We had a long conversation about poverty and human dignity and taking action, while, beyond the conference room door, trucks were being loaded with food for pantries in the eight counties that the food bank serves.

Mauney helped to launch the Kendall Street Pantry, which is attached to the Fire Hub restaurant.

When it comes to her clients, Mauney said “every story, every reason, is as unique as the person who’s there."

She recalled a mother who was recently widowed, who worked part-time and couldn't find a full-time job. Her mother looked after her kids while she worked, and then she'd come home and the two would switch.

Or there's an older woman who is taking care of her husband, who has dementia. She needs a little help sometimes to stretch the grocery bill.

When others talk about food assistance, Mauney said the phrase "those people" can get thrown around a lot. "Those people" just need to get a job, manage money more effectively, go back to school, get a better job.

“It goes back to the ‘those people’ are just like ‘we people,’” Mauney said.

“People don’t get the help that they should get because of the stigma that is related,” Parker added.

Here are four myths the food bank wants to address:

MYTH: 'THOSE PEOPLE' DON’T WANT TO EAT HEALTHY

The women said the success of fresh food initiatives has been a win. They started food tastings in 2015.

“We saw, and I still can’t believe how stupid I was not to realize, trying new foods is a luxury," Parker said. "And if you don’t have the time or money, you can’t afford to waste either of them on food you don’t know your child will eat.”

Kids seem to like the sweet potato chili and spaghetti squash, something Mauney had never tried to cook herself until she started at the Food Bank.

“People do want to be healthy, but they also want something that is going to be reassuring and easy," Mauney said. "So when we can break down those barriers and put healthy food in the hands of people and also give them the tools to use them properly, then that’s when I think we’re successful.”

While the Double Up Food Bucks program is expanding — it takes Bridge Card credit spent on produce and adds more credit to be used toward other produce purchases — it's still underutilized. The Food Bank wants to change that.

MYTH: 'THOSE PEOPLE' CHEAT THE SYSTEM

The pantries aren't exactly handing out steak and lobster. The likelihood of making a living off of re-selling the items is very low.

The majority of those who visit pantries aren't frequent visitors. Parker said they've seen that in data they've tracked from one of the larger pantries.

“It was showing that people are wrong when they say, 'Oh, they’ll just come every time because they just want free stuff.' It’s not true.”

And speaking of fraud, Parker said: “Our clientele are also the ones who are preyed upon the most by those situations.”

Having a job doesn't guarantee self-sufficiency, according to an analysis the Food Bank paid to have done by Diana M. Pearce, director of the Center for Women’s Welfare at the University of Washington.

According to the report, a single parent with two children in this area would need to work 96 hours a week at a minimum wage job to make ends meet

And that's with no holidays or unpaid sick leave.

“It’s not all your McDonald’s burger flippers and fry cooks," Mauney said. "It’s your daycare workers and your teacher’s aides and your nursing assistants. All of those have educational components that are required, state-mandated training, annual updated training, and they are truly life and death positions, and they are making minimum wage or barely above and unable to make ends meet.

“We’re talking about an educated segment of the population that has done everything we told them that they should do, and they aren’t able to make their ends meet from month to month.”

MYTH: 'THOSE PEOPLE' SHOULD TAKE WHAT THEY'RE GIVEN

Another recent win for the Food Bank has been a cultural shift in valuing quality over quantity.

“We’ve seen a subtle shift in recent years, more so since the expansion of our fresh food distribution program and our fresh program, to where it’s not just enough to feed people food," Mauney said. "The goal is to feed people healthy food. Because the food that we eat really impacts so many different areas.”

Yes, ramen is a cheap way to fill a cupboard, but the high sodium content is also going to exacerbate health problems.

The Food Bank's clientele is disproportionately affected by high blood pressure and diabetes and heart disease.

Choice can also be important. Mauney said it can be degrading, to be told "you are poor, you are in need, this is what you deserve.”

“For so many of our clients, especially the small percentage who do utilize pantries frequently, they have very little power. They feel very out of control of their lives and their situations.”